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A Lily Among Brambles (Song of Solomon Part 3) - Tim Conway

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    Okay, well, I would have you turn
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    once again to the Song of Solomon.
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    A little book of 8 chapters right before
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    the major prophet Isaiah.
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    After the Proverbs and Ecclesiastes
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    you will find the Song of Solomon.
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    We are actually in the midst of a study
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    of the book of Ephesians,
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    but there is a place in
    chapter 3 of Ephesians
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    where the apostle tells the Ephesians
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    that he is praying for them
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    and how he bends the
    knee before His Father,
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    and what it is that he lifts up.
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    And his desire is this,
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    that God according to
    the riches of His glory
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    would do something in these Ephesians.
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    And it specifically has to
    do with the love of Christ.
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    He wants them to be
    strengthened with power
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    by the Spirit in their inner being.
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    He wants them to be able to comprehend
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    what the breadth and length
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    and height and depth
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    and to know the love of Christ
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    that surpasses understanding or knowledge.
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    And one of the ways that I'm wanting
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    to help bring that out -
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    if the Lord will allow that to happen -
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    is by taking us to the Song of Solomon.
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    Right here at the beginning,
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    you can just move your eyes
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    to Song of Solomon 1:15.
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    I mentioned this last week and told you
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    that I'd be going back here.
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    "Behold, you are beautiful, My love.
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    Behold, you are beautiful.
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    Your eyes are doves."
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    Now, I thought that
    perhaps I would just start -
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    this is not inspired,
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    but I think nevertheless helpful.
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    Charles Spurgeon in his
    introductory remarks
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    to a message that he preached
    from the Song of Solomon.
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    And I don't exactly remember what
    verse it was he was preaching on,
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    but he had an introduction to the message.
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    And these are the things that he said.
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    Spurgeon:
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    "Certain theologians have doubted
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    the inspiration of Solomon's Song.
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    Others have conceived
    it to be nothing more
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    than a specimen of ancient love songs.
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    Some have been afraid
    to preach from it
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    because of it's highly
    poetical character."
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    And I think what he
    means by highly poetical
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    is its sensual character.
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    Now listen to this.
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    In his estimation,
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    "the true reason for why men avoid
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    one of the most heavenly
    portions of God's Word
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    lies in the fact that
    the spirit of this song
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    is not easily attained.
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    Its music belongs to
    a higher spiritual life
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    and has no charm in
    it for unspiritual ears.
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    The Song of Solomon
    occupies a sacred enclosure
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    into which none may enter unprepared.
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    'Put off thy shoes from off they feet,
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    for the place whereon
    thou standest is holy ground,'
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    is the warning voice from
    its secret tabernacles."
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    Now listen, he looks at all
    of the books in the Bible
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    and he says this:
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    "The historical books of the Bible,
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    I may compare to the
    outer courts of the temple."
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    He says, "the Gospels, the epistles,
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    and the Psalms bring us
    into the holy place
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    or the court of the priests.
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    But the Song of Solomon
    is the most holy place -
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    the holy of holies,
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    before which the veil still hangs
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    to many an untaught believer.
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    It's not all the saints
    who can enter here.
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    For they have not yet attained
    unto the holy confidence of faith,
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    and that exceeding familiarity of love
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    which will permit them to commune
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    in conjugal love with
    the great Bridegroom.
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    The Song is in truth a book
    for full grown Christians.
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    It takes a man who has leaned his head
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    upon the bosom of his Master
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    and been baptized with His baptism
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    to ascend the lofty mountains of love
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    on which the spouse
    stands with her Beloved.
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    The Song of Solomon from the first verse
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    to the last will be clear to those
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    who have received an
    unction from the Holy One.
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    You're aware, dear friends,
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    that there are very few commentaries
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    upon the epistles of John,
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    where we find 50 commentaries
    upon the book of Saint Paul,
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    you will hardly find one upon John.
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    Why is that? Is the book too difficult?
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    The words are very simple.
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    There's hardly a word of four syllables
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    anywhere in John's epistles.
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    Ah, but they are so saturated
    through and through
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    with the spirit of love
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    which also perfumes the book of Solomon,
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    that those who are not taught
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    in the school of communion cry out,
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    'we cannot read it, for it's sealed.'
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    The Song of Solomon is a golden casket
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    of which love is the key
    rather than learning.
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    Those who have not attained
    unto heights of affection;
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    those who have not been educated
    by familiar intercourse with Jesus
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    cannot come near to this mine of treasure
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    seeing it is hid from
    the eyes of all living
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    and kept closed from the fouls of heaven.
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    Oh for the soaring eagle wing of John;
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    oh for the seeing dove's eyes of Solomon.
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    But the most of us are blind
    and cannot see afar off."
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    And you know what he prays?
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    He basically prays for his people
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    that day much like Paul prays
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    there in Ephesians 3,
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    "may God be pleased to
    make us grow in grace
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    and give us so much of the Holy Spirit
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    that with feet like hinds' feet,
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    we may stand upon the
    high places of Scripture
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    and this morning have some
    near and dear intercourse
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    with Christ Jesus."
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    The Song of Solomon.
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    This is not a book to come to
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    if you're simply looking for
    expositions of correct doctrine.
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    That is most true.
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    There is correct doctrine here,
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    but it's not for the cold;
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    it's not for the dry;
    it's not for the academic.
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    Song of Songs.
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    Holy of holies.
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    Undoubtedly, Spurgeon's
    right at that point.
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    I want to tread carefully here.
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    So that being said by way of introduction,
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    I just want you to
    think of the theme here.
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    Look at chapter 1:4.
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    This is the bride:
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    "Draw me after You."
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    And notice how the bride
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    kind of goes from singular to plural.
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    That's how it is.
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    I can speak on very personal terms
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    about Christ's love to me.
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    I can pray to Him, "Draw me,
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    but let us run."
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    It opens up into a plurality.
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    But notice this: these are the two words
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    I want you to see right here.
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    "The King has brought
    me into His chambers."
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    There's a King.
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    This is a book about a King.
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    And it's precisely this King
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    who utters those words that we just read
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    in Song of Solomon 1:15.
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    Go back there.
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    This is the King.
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    This is kingly expression.
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    The King of Kings: "Behold,
    you are beautiful, My love.
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    Behold, you are beautiful."
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    Who's He speaking to?
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    Now, I want you to see this woman.
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    Notice chapter 1:6.
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    And again, I would say to you,
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    this cannot be taken literally.
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    King Solomon did not have wives
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    who were being abused by their brothers,
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    who were being forced to keep vineyards.
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    That would never have happened.
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    But when you think about the picture
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    of this being the church -
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    just think with me here.
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    Song of Solomon 1:6.
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    She says, "do not gaze
    at me because I am dark."
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    In some sense, the church can say that.
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    I am dark. How?
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    We'll touch on that in
    a second, but listen to this:
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    "...Because the sun has looked upon me.
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    My mother's sons were angry with me.
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    They made me keeper of the vineyards,
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    but my own vineyard I have not kept."
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    She is a tender of vineyards in the sun,
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    in the heat of the sun.
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    Just tuck that one away.
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    Go to v. 7.
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    "Tell me, You who my soul loves,
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    where You pasture Your flock."
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    And go to v. 8, He answers,
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    "If you do not know,
    O most beautiful among women,
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    follow in the tracks of the flock
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    and pasture your young goats
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    beside the shepherd's tents."
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    So she's a tender of vineyards.
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    She is also a shepherdess.
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    But then let's go back. Look at v. 5.
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    "I am very dark."
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    She isn't dark because she's an Ethiopian
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    or from some African country.
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    She specifically says why she's dark.
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    Notice: she's dark because the sun
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    has looked on her.
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    What does that tell us?
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    She's not from among
    the ranks of the pampered.
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    She's accustomed to work.
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    She's unaccustomed to being spoiled
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    in the lap of luxury and palaces
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    and covered carriages.
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    She's acquainted with
    the fields and the farms.
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    Now, I don't know much about this,
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    but I do know that like
    when the kings of England,
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    when the princes,
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    when they marry girls who are not royalty,
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    that gets attention.
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    Like Prince Harry, she may be an actress,
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    but she's a commoner.
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    And wasn't that the case
    with his brother too?
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    She wasn't royalty was she?
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    Wasn't that the case with dad?
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    (incomplete thought)
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    But it gets people's attention.
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    Maybe it's become more of a common thing,
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    but the thing I want you to see here
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    is this King has set His
    love upon a commoner.
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    Oh, that's good news.
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    No matter how she might be,
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    there's one thing in
    this little 8 chapter book
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    that you just cannot miss
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    throughout the whole Song of Solomon.
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    The King finds this lowly girl
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    ravishingly beautiful,
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    and He keeps saying that - just look here:
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    v. 15 where we already looked,
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    "Behold, you are beautiful."
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    You know, typically in
    very cultured circles -
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    especially in ancient times,
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    the lighter the skin complexion
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    because they weren't in the sun,
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    there's something almost
    desirable about that.
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    And here's a girl that's dark,
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    and He finds her ravishingly beautiful.
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    "Behold, you are beautiful."
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    And if you backtrack a little bit
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    back to v. 8 - we just read this.
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    "Most beautiful..."
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    "Most beautiful among women," v. 8.
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    And look at 2:2 - this is
    the title of my message.
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    I called this "A Lily Among Brambles."
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    "As a lily among brambles, so is My love
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    among the young women."
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    I mean, do you realize what that's saying?
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    The King is not saying to His church
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    that she is a lily among lesser flowers.
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    You see that? The truth is God's people
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    stand out from the rest of mankind
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    like a beautiful flower stands out -
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    not from flowers of lesser beauty,
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    but from weeds, from brambles,
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    from briars.
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    That's the picture.
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    What we have to recognize is this,
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    you are either most beautiful
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    or you're briar.
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    There's no middle ground here.
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    It's one or the other.
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    Again, that imagery
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    doesn't really work in this world.
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    Because as far as beauty goes,
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    there's a whole spectrum.
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    But here, this King is saying
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    either lily or bramble.
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    No in-between.
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    Look at Song of Solomon 4:1.
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    He just can't quit saying it.
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    "Behold, you are beautiful, My love.
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    Behold, you are beautiful."
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    And if all that wasn't
    enough, look at 4:7.
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    I mean, there's two expressions here.
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    What could we say
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    if you could really embrace this?
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    Christ says this to you, Christian.
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    "You're altogether beautiful, My love."
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    And then not just beautiful.
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    He said you're beautiful altogether.
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    And He examines her and says,
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    "You're perfect."
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    "There's no flaw..."
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    Brethren, my goal is still the same
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    ever since the beginning of this.
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    It is: Father, You had Paul pray,
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    according to the riches of Your glory,
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    have these people to be strengthened
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    so that they can comprehend something
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    of the love that Christ has for them
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    that surpasses all knowledge.
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    Christian, may God give you the ability
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    to comprehend that these are thoughts
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    that Christ has towards you.
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    How many true Christians here among us
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    truly believe that Christ looks at us
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    with such thoughts as these?
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    "You're altogether beautiful, My love.
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    There is no flaw in you."
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    Brethren, do you realize
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    what the blood of Christ is?
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    It's beautifying blood.
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    We think of it as cleansing.
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    Yes, indeed it does that.
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    We think of it as washing.
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    But you have to remember something.
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    It really does cleanse.
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    You know what it is to cleanse?
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    It means the water takes the dirt away.
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    The blood really does that.
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    It really removes every single stain
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    and spot and blemish.
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    Every one of them.
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    We think of it as washing.
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    It does wash, but recognize
    it for all that it is.
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    It is beautifying blood.
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    The blood of Jesus Christ
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    washes us beautiful.
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    We don't often think that,
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    but that's what you get here.
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    And I think Spurgeon's right,
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    this is the holy of holies.
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    This is the pinnacle.
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    The other books - even the Gospels perhaps
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    take us into the holy place,
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    but this takes us in further.
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    We get the very thoughts of Christ
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    as He's looking upon His bride,
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    washed in His blood,
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    and He sees not a single flaw.
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    Brethren, men of this world,
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    they find women attractive
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    though there be no love about it.
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    Now all sorts of men in this world
    can find women attractive,
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    but they don't love the women at all.
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    And men in this world
    can find women attractive
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    even if there are flaws
    because there always are.
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    But our Lord's love is never separated
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    from those He finds beautiful
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    because it cost Him His life's blood
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    to make them beautiful.
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    And this is the thing we need to see,
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    He makes them entirely beautiful.
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    It's only those in which there is no flaw
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    that He finds beautiful.
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    Do you recognize?
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    Jesus has no lesser attraction for people
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    who are just somewhat lesser beautiful.
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    That's not the case.
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    Because you know if He
    finds even a blemish,
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    He finds them ugly.
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    Totally unfit.
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    Adam's one sin - what happened?
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    God put him away.
    God put him out of the garden.
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    There were cherubim with flaming swords.
  • 19:34 - 19:36
    If there's even one blemish,
  • 19:36 - 19:38
    you will certainly go to hell.
  • 19:38 - 19:41
    We need to recognize what it
    is that Christ has done for us.
  • 19:41 - 19:43
    He's made us altogether beautiful.
  • 19:43 - 19:47
    And that is hard.
  • 19:47 - 19:51
    That's hard for us to swallow.
  • 19:51 - 19:53
    Christian, I know how you think
  • 19:53 - 19:54
    because I know how I think,
  • 19:54 - 19:58
    and I'm made of the same
    stuff that you're made of.
  • 19:58 - 20:01
    (incomplete thought)
  • 20:01 - 20:03
    We walk through life. What happens?
  • 20:03 - 20:05
    We're still subject to sin,
  • 20:05 - 20:06
    failure, falls, coldness,
  • 20:06 - 20:08
    dryness of soul.
  • 20:08 - 20:10
    We didn't sing it today,
    but we know it's true.
  • 20:10 - 20:14
    Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it.
  • 20:14 - 20:16
    And we do that.
  • 20:16 - 20:17
    Because all that's true.
  • 20:17 - 20:19
    So we have a massively hard time
  • 20:19 - 20:23
    believing that Song of
    Solomon 4:7 is true.
  • 20:23 - 20:25
    Altogether beautiful?
  • 20:25 - 20:28
    Am I altogether beautiful?
  • 20:28 - 20:30
    There's no flaw in me?
  • 20:30 - 20:32
    Not even one?
  • 20:32 - 20:34
    Look, isn't it a flaw when I don't
  • 20:34 - 20:37
    show hospitality like Brother James said?
  • 20:37 - 20:44
    What if I get selfish, lazy?
  • 20:44 - 20:46
    What if I have thoughts of jealousy
  • 20:46 - 20:48
    or covetousness or pride?
  • 20:48 - 20:51
    Are you telling me that's no flaw?
  • 20:51 - 20:52
    It sure feels like a flaw to me.
  • 20:52 - 20:54
    And we feel that way.
  • 20:54 - 20:56
    We're not thankful.
  • 20:56 - 20:57
    Aren't those blemishes?
  • 20:57 - 21:01
    I feel that they are.
    You feel that they are.
  • 21:01 - 21:03
    But I would ask you this,
  • 21:03 - 21:06
    have you never read
  • 21:06 - 21:13
    one of the simple statements made by John?
  • 21:13 - 21:14
    I mean, Spurgeon said it.
  • 21:14 - 21:18
    You can hardly find a four-syllable word
  • 21:18 - 21:20
    in John's writings.
  • 21:20 - 21:21
    Listen to this.
  • 21:21 - 21:27
    You've heard this, but hear it again.
  • 21:27 - 21:29
    "If we walk in the light
  • 21:29 - 21:30
    as He is in the light,
  • 21:30 - 21:32
    we have fellowship with one another
  • 21:32 - 21:35
    and the blood of Jesus His Son
  • 21:35 - 21:39
    cleanses us from all sin."
  • 21:39 - 21:41
    Did you hear that?
  • 21:41 - 21:44
    The blood of Jesus His Son
  • 21:44 - 21:48
    cleanses us from all -
  • 21:48 - 21:51
    altogether beautiful.
  • 21:51 - 21:55
    All of it's gone.
  • 21:55 - 21:57
    Listen to what John is saying.
  • 21:57 - 22:00
    "If we walk in the light..."
  • 22:00 - 22:01
    You see, he doesn't say,
  • 22:01 - 22:03
    "Everybody is beautiful."
  • 22:03 - 22:05
    "Everybody is without blemish."
  • 22:05 - 22:07
    "Everybody has had all sin..."
  • 22:07 - 22:11
    Uh huh... nope.
  • 22:11 - 22:15
    How can we tell in whom
  • 22:15 - 22:18
    the cleansing has taken place?
  • 22:18 - 22:21
    Because they no longer
    walk in the darkness.
  • 22:21 - 22:25
    They walk in the light.
  • 22:25 - 22:27
    If you're a real Christian -
  • 22:27 - 22:31
    a person who walks in the light -
  • 22:31 - 22:33
    Jesus said those who walk in darkness,
  • 22:33 - 22:35
    they wouldn't come to Him.
  • 22:35 - 22:38
    Why? Because their deeds were evil.
  • 22:38 - 22:41
    They loved the darkness
    more than the light.
  • 22:41 - 22:44
    Oh, but if you know it, you love Christ,
  • 22:44 - 22:47
    you love to be in His presence,
  • 22:47 - 22:49
    you love His righteousness,
  • 22:49 - 22:51
    you have a desire for that.
  • 22:51 - 22:52
    Your heart's been changed.
  • 22:52 - 22:54
    You love God's people.
  • 22:54 - 22:57
    You love His truth.
  • 22:57 - 22:59
    You have a desire for that light.
  • 22:59 - 23:02
    You have this promise.
  • 23:02 - 23:05
    I know you know this, but listen.
  • 23:05 - 23:09
    Doesn't Scripture say that for our sake
  • 23:09 - 23:13
    God made Christ to be
    sin who knew no sin,
  • 23:13 - 23:17
    so that we might what? Become what?
  • 23:17 - 23:20
    Do you really take that for what it is?
  • 23:20 - 23:23
    Do you know what it is to
    become the righteousness of God?
  • 23:23 - 23:25
    It's to have no blemish in you.
  • 23:25 - 23:29
    It's to be perfect.
  • 23:29 - 23:32
    It's to be altogether beautiful.
  • 23:32 - 23:35
    "By one man's obedience..."
  • 23:35 - 23:36
    have you ever read that?
  • 23:36 - 23:40
    "By one man's obedience" what happened?
  • 23:40 - 23:44
    "The many will be made righteous."
  • 23:44 - 23:46
    And they really are.
  • 23:46 - 23:47
    Do you recognize, Christian,
  • 23:47 - 23:49
    you really are righteous?
  • 23:49 - 23:52
    You really are the righteousness of God.
  • 23:52 - 23:54
    You really are altogether beautiful.
  • 23:54 - 23:56
    His blood really has cleansed away
  • 23:56 - 23:57
    every single sin.
  • 23:57 - 24:01
    And the reality is, every
    time there's a new sin,
  • 24:01 - 24:04
    washed clean. It's clean.
  • 24:04 - 24:06
    No blemish can stick to you.
  • 24:06 - 24:08
    You say, oh, those are flaws,
  • 24:08 - 24:11
    but don't you realize the
    power of the blood?
  • 24:11 - 24:14
    Altogether beautiful -
    even on your worst day.
  • 24:14 - 24:18
    Altogether lovely.
  • 24:18 - 24:20
    I love the imagery of
    the Song of Solomon.
  • 24:20 - 24:26
    Look at Song 4:9.
  • 24:26 - 24:30
    Hear Jesus speaking to you, Christian.
  • 24:30 - 24:34
    "You've captivated My heart,
  • 24:34 - 24:35
    My sister, My bride.
  • 24:35 - 24:38
    You've captivated My heart
  • 24:38 - 24:40
    with one glance of your eyes."
  • 24:40 - 24:41
    Now listen to this.
  • 24:41 - 24:43
    This is what I'm shooting at here.
  • 24:43 - 24:54
    "With one jewel of your necklace."
  • 24:54 - 25:01
    I searched "necklace" in the English.
  • 25:01 - 25:04
    And do you know what popped up?
  • 25:04 - 25:07
    This text popped up.
  • 25:07 - 25:09
    Don't turn to it. Just listen to it.
  • 25:09 - 25:11
    Psalm 73:6.
  • 25:11 - 25:14
    Now this is speaking of the wicked,
  • 25:14 - 25:17
    not of the righteous.
  • 25:17 - 25:21
    But if you want to know what a necklace
  • 25:21 - 25:28
    is symbolic of, listen to this.
  • 25:28 - 25:33
    "Therefore pride is their necklace.
  • 25:33 - 25:36
    Violence covers them as a garment."
  • 25:36 - 25:37
    Now you just think about that.
  • 25:37 - 25:42
    Pride is their necklace.
  • 25:42 - 25:46
    When a person is proud,
  • 25:46 - 25:48
    what the psalmist is saying
  • 25:48 - 25:51
    is it's like having a necklace on.
  • 25:51 - 25:54
    It's visible.
  • 25:54 - 25:56
    It's something that's apparent.
  • 25:56 - 25:57
    It's close to the face.
  • 25:57 - 26:00
    It's above the clothes line.
  • 26:00 - 26:03
    It's visible.
  • 26:03 - 26:08
    A necklace is likened to the character
  • 26:08 - 26:11
    of the person.
  • 26:11 - 26:12
    A necklace.
  • 26:12 - 26:15
    The church's necklace
    obviously is not pride,
  • 26:15 - 26:18
    but rather whatever it is,
  • 26:18 - 26:21
    it's that which Christ finds
    beautiful in His bride.
  • 26:21 - 26:24
    But here's the question to ask:
  • 26:24 - 26:29
    Where does a lowly shepherdess
  • 26:29 - 26:33
    get a necklace of jewels?
  • 26:33 - 26:36
    Well, He gave it to her.
  • 26:36 - 26:41
    You say, where's that in the text?
  • 26:41 - 26:43
    Brethren, I've had a thought
  • 26:43 - 26:47
    cross my mind more than once
  • 26:47 - 26:51
    as I've read through Scripture.
  • 26:51 - 26:54
    Typically, I try to go through the Bible
  • 26:54 - 26:56
    roughly maybe from beginning to end
  • 26:56 - 26:59
    once a year.
  • 26:59 - 27:01
    So maybe once a year over the last
  • 27:01 - 27:09
    almost 30 years I hit the book of Daniel.
  • 27:09 - 27:12
    Have you ever read something like this?
  • 27:12 - 27:13
    Listen to this - Daniel:
  • 27:13 - 27:15
    "I lifted up my eyes and looked
  • 27:15 - 27:17
    and behold a man clothed in linen
  • 27:17 - 27:20
    with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz
  • 27:20 - 27:22
    around His waist.
  • 27:22 - 27:23
    His body was like beryl,
  • 27:23 - 27:25
    His face like the appearance of lightning.
  • 27:25 - 27:27
    His eyes like flaming torches.
  • 27:27 - 27:31
    His arms and legs like the
    gleam of burnished bronze.
  • 27:31 - 27:37
    The sound of His words like
    the sound of a multitude."
  • 27:37 - 27:43
    This one before Daniel,
  • 27:43 - 27:46
    He says to Daniel,
  • 27:46 - 27:52
    "O Daniel, man greatly loved.
  • 27:52 - 27:54
    Understand the words that I speak to you
  • 27:54 - 27:58
    and stand upright, for now
    I have been sent to you."
  • 27:58 - 28:00
    I read those words:
  • 28:00 - 28:05
    "O Daniel, man greatly loved..."
  • 28:05 - 28:07
    I don't know if you've ever read that
  • 28:07 - 28:09
    and thought what I've thought,
  • 28:09 - 28:12
    but I've always thought:
  • 28:12 - 28:15
    Oh Lord, I want to be that man.
  • 28:15 - 28:21
    I want to be that man
    that is greatly loved
  • 28:21 - 28:23
    of the Lord.
  • 28:23 - 28:24
    Or you think of John.
  • 28:24 - 28:26
    Remember how John described himself?
  • 28:26 - 28:29
    Just there at the end of John's Gospel.
  • 28:29 - 28:31
    "Peter turned and saw
  • 28:31 - 28:35
    the disciple whom Jesus loved."
  • 28:35 - 28:38
    Don't you want to be that guy?
  • 28:38 - 28:40
    Don't you want that kind of title?
  • 28:40 - 28:42
    I mean he's using it of himself.
  • 28:42 - 28:44
    It's not even somebody else that's saying,
  • 28:44 - 28:49
    "oh, we can see..." (incomplete thought)
  • 28:49 - 28:50
    He's under inspiration.
  • 28:50 - 28:55
    He's certainly not saying that in pride.
  • 28:55 - 29:01
    I think he's saying it in amazement.
  • 29:01 - 29:03
    The thought I've had is this:
  • 29:03 - 29:06
    Oh, to be greatly loved like Daniel!
  • 29:06 - 29:11
    To be the disciple whom
    Jesus loved like John!
  • 29:11 - 29:16
    And listen, why do I
    have thoughts like that?
  • 29:16 - 29:18
    Because I feel inferior to them.
  • 29:18 - 29:21
    Because it strikes me in my own mind
  • 29:21 - 29:23
    and my own conscience:
  • 29:23 - 29:27
    Oh, well, for him to say that,
  • 29:27 - 29:29
    for those expressions to be made,
  • 29:29 - 29:30
    they were favorites.
  • 29:30 - 29:33
    They were loved more.
  • 29:33 - 29:35
    I mean, I'm less deserving.
  • 29:35 - 29:37
    I feel that. I'm not as holy.
  • 29:37 - 29:39
    I haven't measured up to where they were.
  • 29:39 - 29:41
    I fall short somehow.
  • 29:41 - 29:44
    We're not like so-and-so.
  • 29:44 - 29:47
    But brethren, if only we
    might have the eyes to see.
  • 29:47 - 29:50
    The thing is there's no step-children.
  • 29:50 - 29:54
    (incomplete thought)
  • 29:54 - 29:56
    I was just thinking.
  • 29:56 - 30:00
    My mind went to Matthew 25 and I thought
  • 30:00 - 30:02
    Jesus saying "as much as you've done it
  • 30:02 - 30:05
    to one of the least
    of these, My brethren..."
  • 30:05 - 30:06
    But then I was also thinking
  • 30:06 - 30:11
    in 1 Thessalonians 5 where it talks about
  • 30:11 - 30:15
    the faint, the weak, the unruly.
  • 30:15 - 30:17
    I'm thinking about the
    most faint Christian
  • 30:17 - 30:18
    that's ever lived;
  • 30:18 - 30:20
    the most unruly Christian
    that's ever lived;
  • 30:20 - 30:23
    the least of these My brethren.
  • 30:23 - 30:26
    And you know what Jesus says?
  • 30:26 - 30:28
    You're perfect.
  • 30:28 - 30:33
    You are altogether beautiful.
  • 30:33 - 30:35
    There's no flaw in you.
  • 30:35 - 30:38
    There's no blemish.
  • 30:38 - 30:40
    (incomplete thought)
  • 30:40 - 30:43
    Look at chapter 7:10 -
  • 30:43 - 30:48
    He can say this:
  • 30:48 - 30:52
    (this is actually the church speaking).
  • 30:52 - 30:54
    But listen to her confidence.
  • 30:54 - 30:56
    You see, this is where I want you.
  • 30:56 - 30:59
    This is where we need to be.
  • 30:59 - 31:02
    We need to think and say
  • 31:02 - 31:05
    with the same confidence that she can say
  • 31:05 - 31:07
    in this verse:
  • 31:07 - 31:09
    "I am my Beloved's,
  • 31:09 - 31:13
    and His desire is for me."
  • 31:13 - 31:14
    And that's no lie.
  • 31:14 - 31:16
    She wasn't making that up.
  • 31:16 - 31:18
    That's altogether the truth.
  • 31:18 - 31:20
    But oh that we might have the confidence.
  • 31:20 - 31:23
    Listen to me, what happens
  • 31:23 - 31:25
    in the Christian's life?
  • 31:25 - 31:30
    What happens to us when
    we really believe this?
  • 31:30 - 31:32
    What happens when
    we really get to the place
  • 31:32 - 31:35
    where we believe we're
    not second-class Christians?
  • 31:35 - 31:38
    We don't fall short of Daniel and John.
  • 31:38 - 31:40
    The reality is that these
    words are spoken
  • 31:40 - 31:45
    to every one of us equally.
  • 31:45 - 31:47
    "I love you,
  • 31:47 - 31:50
    and I find you beautiful,
  • 31:50 - 31:52
    and I desire you."
  • 31:52 - 31:54
    What happens?
  • 31:54 - 31:56
    What happens to a person
  • 31:56 - 31:59
    when they become
    filled with the confidence
  • 31:59 - 32:01
    and the assurance that Jesus Christ
  • 32:01 - 32:03
    actually desires them
  • 32:03 - 32:06
    and finds them altogether beautiful
  • 32:06 - 32:08
    all the time?
  • 32:08 - 32:10
    Even when I've had a bad day?
  • 32:10 - 32:12
    What happens when the Christian
  • 32:12 - 32:15
    really embraces this reality?
  • 32:15 - 32:18
    What reality? Like this
    reality - chapter 2:10.
  • 32:18 - 32:21
    Look at it.
  • 32:21 - 32:24
    Again, this is her at the beginning,
  • 32:24 - 32:28
    but she's going to tell you what He says.
  • 32:28 - 32:33
    You know, brethren, listen to me.
  • 32:33 - 32:35
    Oftentimes in the Song of Solomon,
  • 32:35 - 32:40
    it doesn't just tell you what He says.
  • 32:40 - 32:45
    She tells you what He says.
  • 32:45 - 32:47
    You say, what does that mean?
  • 32:47 - 32:53
    She has become confident
    in His love for her.
  • 32:53 - 32:56
    And that's where we need to be.
  • 32:56 - 32:58
    Now listen to this.
  • 32:58 - 33:03
    This is 2:10,
  • 33:03 - 33:07
    "My Beloved speaks and says to me..."
  • 33:07 - 33:09
    Oh, Christian, may God
    give you ears to hear this
  • 33:09 - 33:12
    as Christ's voice to you.
  • 33:12 - 33:15
    "Arise, My love, My beautiful one
  • 33:15 - 33:18
    and come away."
  • 33:18 - 33:20
    "Come away."
  • 33:20 - 33:22
    From where?
  • 33:22 - 33:24
    Whatever preoccupies; whatever distracts;
  • 33:24 - 33:27
    whatever takes you away from Him.
  • 33:27 - 33:30
    Come away.
  • 33:30 - 33:31
    "For behold, the winter is passed.
  • 33:31 - 33:33
    The rain is over and gone.
  • 33:33 - 33:35
    The flowers appear on the earth."
  • 33:35 - 33:39
    I love this:
    "The time of singing has come."
  • 33:39 - 33:45
    If you are saved,
    this description fits you
  • 33:45 - 33:48
    and it is a time for singing.
  • 33:48 - 33:49
    Christians ought to be the people
  • 33:49 - 33:53
    of all people on the face
    of this earth that sing.
  • 33:53 - 33:55
    We have reason to sing.
  • 33:55 - 33:57
    "It is a time of singing and the voice
  • 33:57 - 34:00
    of the turtledove is heard in our land.
  • 34:00 - 34:02
    The fig tree ripens its figs.
  • 34:02 - 34:03
    The vines are in blossom.
  • 34:03 - 34:05
    They give forth fragrance."
  • 34:05 - 34:06
    And He says it again,
  • 34:06 - 34:10
    "Arise, My love, My beautiful one,
  • 34:10 - 34:12
    and come away."
  • 34:12 - 34:14
    I mean, what happens to the Christian
  • 34:14 - 34:15
    who truly hears these words
  • 34:15 - 34:18
    in his or her ears?
  • 34:18 - 34:20
    Look at v. 14.
  • 34:20 - 34:24
    "O My dove in the clefts of the rock..."
  • 34:24 - 34:26
    This is a good picture.
  • 34:26 - 34:29
    We are those doves.
  • 34:29 - 34:31
    Where are the clefts of the rock?
  • 34:31 - 34:35
    That's where the doves hide.
  • 34:35 - 34:42
    Notice: "In the crannies of the cliff."
  • 34:42 - 34:44
    We find places to hide.
  • 34:44 - 34:47
    Where are those hiding places?
  • 34:47 - 34:49
    They're away from being with Him.
  • 34:49 - 34:51
    And He's calling,
  • 34:51 - 34:54
    "Let Me hear your voice."
  • 34:54 - 34:57
    In other words, when you're hid
  • 34:57 - 35:02
    in the crannies of the cliffs,
  • 35:02 - 35:03
    He's not hearing your voice.
  • 35:03 - 35:04
    You're hiding.
  • 35:04 - 35:08
    He's saying, "Come! Come out of there."
  • 35:08 - 35:10
    Remember what she says.
  • 35:10 - 35:14
    "His desire is for me."
  • 35:14 - 35:16
    He says, "Your voice is sweet.
  • 35:16 - 35:23
    Your face is lovely."
  • 35:23 - 35:26
    One of the reasons we shy away
  • 35:26 - 35:29
    is because we feel dirty.
  • 35:29 - 35:30
    We hide.
  • 35:30 - 35:32
    We're too much like Peter, right?
  • 35:32 - 35:35
    We're just like him.
  • 35:35 - 35:38
    "Peter, if I don't wash you,
    you have no part with Me."
  • 35:38 - 35:43
    And we feel it. Lord, wash
    my head. Wash my hands.
  • 35:43 - 35:46
    And He's saying it's not necessary.
  • 35:46 - 35:48
    But we feel like Peter.
  • 35:48 - 35:54
    Ugh... I haven't had a perfect day,
  • 35:54 - 35:56
    so we feel defiled like Peter.
  • 35:56 - 35:59
    "Wash us, Lord," and He's
    saying "you're already clean."
  • 35:59 - 36:02
    You're washed.
  • 36:02 - 36:05
    What happens when this truth grabs us?
  • 36:05 - 36:07
    That our Lord finds us beautiful?
  • 36:07 - 36:10
    Desires us? Calls us to come away?
  • 36:10 - 36:12
    Arise because He wants to
    hear our voice? See our face?
  • 36:12 - 36:16
    I'll tell you what happens.
  • 36:16 - 36:20
    No matter what failures
    you've experienced,
  • 36:20 - 36:22
    you'll find it a time for singing,
  • 36:22 - 36:23
    a time of shouting,
  • 36:23 - 36:25
    a time to arise and go away.
  • 36:25 - 36:26
    You know what happens
  • 36:26 - 36:28
    when you really start to believe this?
  • 36:28 - 36:30
    It doesn't matter if you've had a bad day.
  • 36:30 - 36:33
    It doesn't matter the
    things that you've done.
  • 36:33 - 36:34
    What you're going to find is:
  • 36:34 - 36:36
    I can go to Him and He
    wants me to go to Him
  • 36:36 - 36:38
    and He finds me beautiful.
  • 36:38 - 36:40
    And this thing never was
    based on my performance.
  • 36:40 - 36:43
    His blood really has made me as clean
  • 36:43 - 36:44
    as what Scripture says.
  • 36:44 - 36:46
    He finds me altogether beautiful.
  • 36:46 - 36:49
    Why? Not because there's
    any innate beauty in me.
  • 36:49 - 36:50
    He found me ugly.
  • 36:50 - 36:52
    He found me in my blood and in my sin,
  • 36:52 - 36:54
    but He washed me.
  • 36:54 - 36:57
    And He made me clean and that is so real.
  • 36:57 - 37:00
    And even the eyes of God Himself
  • 37:00 - 37:03
    find no blemish in me.
  • 37:03 - 37:06
    Altogether lovely. Altogether.
  • 37:06 - 37:10
    If you believe this, it will entirely
  • 37:10 - 37:11
    energize your prayer life,
  • 37:11 - 37:13
    because you won't feel like:
  • 37:13 - 37:15
    oh, I've had a rotten day.
  • 37:15 - 37:17
    How could I go pray?
  • 37:17 - 37:19
    And if you can hear His voice saying:
  • 37:19 - 37:23
    "Your face is lovely.
    I want to hear your voice.
  • 37:23 - 37:27
    My desire is for you. Come to Me."
  • 37:27 - 37:28
    Oh, the fools we are!
  • 37:28 - 37:30
    We are fools!
  • 37:30 - 37:32
    So often. Why?
  • 37:32 - 37:35
    Because we buy into the lie of the devil.
  • 37:35 - 37:38
    And you can be sure it's him.
  • 37:38 - 37:41
    And I'll tell you this,
  • 37:41 - 37:43
    what he seeks to do is the same thing
  • 37:43 - 37:45
    he did with Eve,
  • 37:45 - 37:46
    and it's to pull you away
  • 37:46 - 37:48
    and the thoughts of your head away
  • 37:48 - 37:51
    from a pure devotion to Christ.
  • 37:51 - 37:54
    That's exactly what the
    apostle told the Corinthians.
  • 37:54 - 37:55
    That's what he's doing.
  • 37:55 - 37:56
    And if there's any way to do it,
  • 37:56 - 37:59
    to pull you away from a
    sincere devotion to Him,
  • 37:59 - 38:00
    it's by telling you you're ugly,
  • 38:00 - 38:02
    you're full of sin,
  • 38:02 - 38:03
    you can't go to Him,
  • 38:03 - 38:05
    who are you?
  • 38:05 - 38:08
    Paul says that we would not
  • 38:08 - 38:10
    be outwitted by Satan,
  • 38:10 - 38:12
    for we are not ignorant of his designs.
  • 38:12 - 38:15
    Listen to me, one of the
    great designs of the devil
  • 38:15 - 38:17
    is to convince you that this is not true.
  • 38:17 - 38:19
    And he will seek to do that
  • 38:19 - 38:22
    and he will seek to whisper
    his venom in your ear.
  • 38:22 - 38:24
    (incomplete thought)
  • 38:24 - 38:25
    Listen to the text.
  • 38:25 - 38:26
    (incomplete thought)
  • 38:26 - 38:28
    This is what Paul says to the Corinthians:
  • 38:28 - 38:34
    "I'm afraid that as the serpent
    deceived Eve by his cunning,
  • 38:34 - 38:36
    your thoughts..."
  • 38:36 - 38:38
    This comes out of 2 Corinthians 11.
  • 38:38 - 38:41
    "I'm afraid that as the serpent
  • 38:41 - 38:44
    deceived Eve by his cunning,
  • 38:44 - 38:49
    your thoughts..." or your minds,
  • 38:49 - 38:53
    "will be led astray from a sincere
  • 38:53 - 38:55
    and pure devotion to Christ."
  • 38:55 - 38:59
    Now did you get that?
  • 38:59 - 39:02
    He wants to attack you right here.
  • 39:02 - 39:04
    How you think.
  • 39:04 - 39:07
    (Incomplete thought)
  • 39:07 - 39:08
    What this tells us
  • 39:08 - 39:11
    is there's a constant attack
  • 39:11 - 39:13
    on your thoughts.
  • 39:13 - 39:15
    How does he do it?
    I don't know how he does it.
  • 39:15 - 39:17
    But you know thoughts
    come into your brain.
  • 39:17 - 39:20
    What this tells me is he's got the ability
  • 39:20 - 39:24
    to interject thoughts in your head.
  • 39:24 - 39:26
    When thoughts pop into your mind,
  • 39:26 - 39:29
    that is often him.
  • 39:29 - 39:33
    Now, God can bring thoughts to your mind,
  • 39:33 - 39:35
    but we're not ignorant of his designs.
  • 39:35 - 39:36
    What does he do?
  • 39:36 - 39:39
    He wants thoughts going through our minds
  • 39:39 - 39:42
    that lead us away from Christ;
  • 39:42 - 39:44
    that lead us - did you get the word?
  • 39:44 - 39:46
    Astray. Astray from what?
  • 39:46 - 39:47
    Astray from Christ.
  • 39:47 - 39:49
    Astray from this sincere and pure
  • 39:49 - 39:51
    devotion to Christ.
  • 39:51 - 39:53
    That's the issue.
  • 39:53 - 39:55
    How did the devil deceive Eve?
  • 39:55 - 39:57
    Lead her astray from pure,
  • 39:57 - 40:01
    concentrated attraction
    and devotion to Christ?
  • 40:01 - 40:04
    Well, just listen.
  • 40:04 - 40:07
    "The woman said to the serpent,
  • 40:07 - 40:09
    'we may eat the fruit of
    the trees in the garden.'"
  • 40:09 - 40:11
    Because you remember,
  • 40:11 - 40:12
    he said, "did God really say
  • 40:12 - 40:16
    that you can't eat of all the trees?"
  • 40:16 - 40:18
    She said, "No, that's not what He said."
  • 40:18 - 40:23
    "'He said we may eat of the fruit
  • 40:23 - 40:25
    of the trees in the garden,'
  • 40:25 - 40:27
    but God said, 'you shall
    not eat of the tree
  • 40:27 - 40:29
    that is in the midst of the garden,
  • 40:29 - 40:31
    neither shall you touch it lest you die.'
  • 40:31 - 40:33
    But the serpent said to the woman,
  • 40:33 - 40:35
    'you will not surely die.'"
  • 40:35 - 40:39
    But you know that's not all he said.
  • 40:39 - 40:44
    He didn't just say God's a liar.
  • 40:44 - 40:47
    Listen to what he says.
  • 40:47 - 40:52
    "God knows that when you eat of it,
  • 40:52 - 40:54
    your eyes will be opened
  • 40:54 - 40:59
    and you will be like God
  • 40:59 - 41:00
    knowing good and evil."
  • 41:00 - 41:01
    See? There it is.
  • 41:01 - 41:04
    God's holding out on you.
  • 41:04 - 41:08
    God full well knows that
    in the eating of that tree,
  • 41:08 - 41:11
    far from dying like God threatened,
  • 41:11 - 41:12
    the result of eating that fruit
  • 41:12 - 41:15
    will be that you will have
    a clearer understanding
  • 41:15 - 41:17
    of both good and evil,
  • 41:17 - 41:20
    a degree of knowledge like
    you never had before.
  • 41:20 - 41:21
    You're going to be like God,
  • 41:21 - 41:27
    and God is unwilling that
    you should enjoy that.
  • 41:27 - 41:29
    God's unwilling that you should be
  • 41:29 - 41:33
    as happy as you might be.
  • 41:33 - 41:37
    Brethren, we're not ignorant
    of the devil's designs.
  • 41:37 - 41:39
    Right?
  • 41:39 - 41:41
    So let's not be ignorant.
  • 41:41 - 41:42
    That's the issue.
  • 41:42 - 41:45
    One design of the devil is this:
  • 41:45 - 41:47
    He will make God's ways
  • 41:47 - 41:52
    into cruelty and drudgery and slavery.
  • 41:52 - 41:54
    He doesn't want you to think
  • 41:54 - 41:58
    that Christianity is like this Groom
  • 41:58 - 42:01
    who comes in and finds
    you altogether lovely
  • 42:01 - 42:03
    and His desire is for you and He says,
  • 42:03 - 42:06
    "Commune with Me. It's a time for singing.
  • 42:06 - 42:08
    Come out of your crannies
    and cracks of the rocks
  • 42:08 - 42:10
    and I desire to be with you.
  • 42:10 - 42:12
    I want you to walk with Me.
  • 42:12 - 42:14
    I love your voice. I love your face.
  • 42:14 - 42:17
    I want to commune with you."
  • 42:17 - 42:19
    The devil doesn't want you to think
  • 42:19 - 42:21
    Christianity is like that.
  • 42:21 - 42:23
    And you know what? Most of us,
  • 42:23 - 42:25
    when we were lost will admit,
  • 42:25 - 42:28
    we thought Christianity...
  • 42:28 - 42:31
    no, we don't want that.
  • 42:31 - 42:34
    God's a killjoy!
  • 42:34 - 42:36
    He's going to give me a
    bunch of laws and rules
  • 42:36 - 42:38
    and make my life miserable!
  • 42:38 - 42:39
    And see, the devil's right there.
  • 42:39 - 42:43
    Oh, he wants you to
    think exactly like that.
  • 42:43 - 42:44
    Exactly.
  • 42:44 - 42:45
    The devil would have us think
  • 42:45 - 42:48
    that Christ doesn't really like us.
  • 42:48 - 42:50
    You know what he wants you to think?
  • 42:50 - 42:54
    He's constantly frowning.
  • 42:54 - 42:56
    You didn't measure up today.
  • 42:56 - 42:57
    That's how he wants you to think
  • 42:57 - 43:00
    because that's how he is.
  • 43:00 - 43:03
    But that's not how Christ is.
  • 43:03 - 43:07
    That blood washed you clean.
  • 43:07 - 43:09
    The devil's always whispering:
  • 43:09 - 43:13
    "Oh, God has such a hard time liking you."
  • 43:13 - 43:15
    "He doesn't really love you."
  • 43:15 - 43:17
    He puts a spin on God.
  • 43:17 - 43:19
    "God is selfish and self-serving
  • 43:19 - 43:21
    and uncaring."
  • 43:21 - 43:23
    He would have us see God
  • 43:23 - 43:26
    and see Christ as being cold towards us
  • 43:26 - 43:29
    and distant and unapproachable
  • 43:29 - 43:32
    and angry and hostile, uncaring.
  • 43:32 - 43:34
    Bunyan picked up on this
  • 43:34 - 43:36
    in Pilgrim's Progress.
  • 43:36 - 43:41
    Listen, Pilgrim is coming across the plain
  • 43:41 - 43:44
    and it says, "Now
    Christian had not gone far
  • 43:44 - 43:46
    in this valley of humiliation
  • 43:46 - 43:48
    before he was severely tested.
  • 43:48 - 43:52
    For he noticed a very foul fiend."
  • 43:52 - 43:57
    Apollyon coming across the field.
  • 43:57 - 44:01
    Listen to what Apollyon says to him.
  • 44:01 - 44:04
    "Consider what it will be like
  • 44:04 - 44:08
    when your spirit is low."
  • 44:08 - 44:10
    So, he's saying to Christian,
  • 44:10 - 44:13
    you better think about
    this path you're getting on
  • 44:13 - 44:15
    following the king's path.
  • 44:15 - 44:18
    He said "Christ is going to bring you
  • 44:18 - 44:20
    into low places,
  • 44:20 - 44:22
    and at the same time,
  • 44:22 - 44:24
    you have much to encounter
  • 44:24 - 44:25
    in the way you're going.
  • 44:25 - 44:27
    You're aware that for the most part,
  • 44:27 - 44:32
    Christ's servants come to a wretched end.
  • 44:32 - 44:35
    And yet, He's never come
    from His heavenly residence
  • 44:35 - 44:38
    to rescue any of His servants."
  • 44:38 - 44:40
    He's basically saying Christ is going to
  • 44:40 - 44:41
    put you on a hard way.
  • 44:41 - 44:43
    It's going to be a cruel way,
  • 44:43 - 44:47
    and He doesn't come to help you.
  • 44:47 - 44:50
    But you just tell me this.
  • 44:50 - 44:54
    What happens when God comes from Heaven
  • 44:54 - 44:57
    and takes upon Himself human flesh?
  • 44:57 - 45:00
    What does He do? What is He like?
  • 45:00 - 45:03
    When this pure, radiance
  • 45:03 - 45:08
    of the glory of God walks
    this earth as a man
  • 45:08 - 45:12
    and He says out of all the miracles
  • 45:12 - 45:15
    that I could start my ministry with,
  • 45:15 - 45:18
    what would send the clearest
    message to these people
  • 45:18 - 45:21
    of My goodness towards them?
  • 45:21 - 45:22
    He goes to a wedding
  • 45:22 - 45:28
    and He turns water into wine.
  • 45:28 - 45:32
    It's the best wine!
  • 45:32 - 45:35
    Scripture says, "Your
    love is better than wine,"
  • 45:35 - 45:37
    there in the Song of Solomon.
  • 45:37 - 45:39
    What does that say to us?
  • 45:39 - 45:42
    Is He saying, "Look at Me. I'm cruel.
  • 45:42 - 45:44
    I'm uncaring.
  • 45:44 - 45:47
    I've come to make life hard for you."
  • 45:47 - 45:49
    He comes saying,
  • 45:49 - 45:52
    "I have come to give mankind joy
  • 45:52 - 45:55
    and freedom and life more abundantly.
  • 45:55 - 45:57
    I've come to pour out My love on you."
  • 45:57 - 46:00
    As undeserving as you may be,
  • 46:00 - 46:03
    He came to procure for Himself a bride.
  • 46:03 - 46:06
    But He knew the stock of mankind
  • 46:06 - 46:08
    into which He was coming.
  • 46:08 - 46:13
    He came to make Himself a bride
  • 46:13 - 46:15
    out of the fallen, the wretched,
  • 46:15 - 46:18
    the broken, the lowly.
  • 46:18 - 46:21
    This is the love of Christ.
    It surpasses understanding.
  • 46:21 - 46:26
    Just look at the desire of the Savior
  • 46:26 - 46:28
    in the Song of Solomon.
  • 46:28 - 46:30
    I'll take you here again.
  • 46:30 - 46:33
    Chapter 2:10.
  • 46:33 - 46:36
    Again, this is her speaking.
  • 46:36 - 46:41
    I want you to speak this way, brethren.
  • 46:41 - 46:43
    I want you to be able to say this
  • 46:43 - 46:44
    with confidence.
  • 46:44 - 46:48
    "My Beloved speaks and says to Me,
  • 46:48 - 46:52
    'Arise, My love, My beautiful
    one and come away.'"
  • 46:52 - 46:56
    And you know one of
    the things that I'd say
  • 46:56 - 47:02
    is we should tune our
    ears to hear His voice.
  • 47:02 - 47:04
    You feel quickened to pray?
  • 47:04 - 47:07
    You feel some drawing?
  • 47:07 - 47:09
    You feel some necessity?
  • 47:09 - 47:12
    Don't ever despise that.
  • 47:12 - 47:17
    "For behold, the winter is passed..."
  • 47:17 - 47:20
    Again, He says, "the time
    of singing has come."
  • 47:20 - 47:22
    Or you look at v. 13 again.
  • 47:22 - 47:24
    "The fig tree ripens its figs.
  • 47:24 - 47:26
    The vines are in blossom.
  • 47:26 - 47:27
    They give forth fragrance.
  • 47:27 - 47:30
    Arise, My love, My beautiful one,
  • 47:30 - 47:31
    and come away."
  • 47:31 - 47:34
    Or you go to Song of Solomon 4:8.
  • 47:34 - 47:38
    Here you see it again.
  • 47:38 - 47:43
    "Come with Me from Lebanon, My bride."
  • 47:43 - 47:46
    Come with Me from Lebanon.
  • 47:46 - 47:48
    Come with Me.
  • 47:48 - 47:50
    He bids you to come away.
  • 47:50 - 47:53
    Not to go away from Him.
  • 47:53 - 47:55
    Come with Me.
  • 47:55 - 47:57
    Brethren, I don't know how it is with you,
  • 47:57 - 48:00
    but I know how it is with me.
  • 48:00 - 48:02
    I fall.
  • 48:02 - 48:04
    I fail.
  • 48:04 - 48:06
    I'm foolish.
  • 48:06 - 48:16
    And a thought arises in my head:
  • 48:16 - 48:20
    Can I just go to Him now?
  • 48:20 - 48:24
    After what I've done?
  • 48:24 - 48:32
    There's an innate works
    mindset built into us
  • 48:32 - 48:34
    just from the stock of which we come.
  • 48:34 - 48:36
    It's almost like we feel like
  • 48:36 - 48:40
    we have to do a certain measure of penance
  • 48:40 - 48:44
    to kind of get ourselves back.
  • 48:44 - 48:47
    But listen,
  • 48:47 - 48:50
    the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us.
  • 48:50 - 48:52
    Didn't John say it?
  • 48:52 - 48:53
    He said, "My little children,
  • 48:53 - 48:55
    I'm writing to you that you don't sin,
  • 48:55 - 48:58
    but if you sin, we have an
    Advocate with the Father,
  • 48:58 - 49:00
    Jesus Christ the Righteous."
  • 49:00 - 49:02
    We can run to Him.
  • 49:02 - 49:03
    We can confess our sins
  • 49:03 - 49:07
    and He's faithful and just to forgive.
  • 49:07 - 49:11
    The last place you want to go anytime
  • 49:11 - 49:12
    is away from Christ.
  • 49:12 - 49:14
    But the devil will have you do it.
  • 49:14 - 49:16
    Don't despise this.
  • 49:16 - 49:19
    We know his designs.
  • 49:19 - 49:22
    His design is to take you away
  • 49:22 - 49:27
    from this pure, sincere
    devotion to Christ.
  • 49:27 - 49:29
    Having Christ in your eyes.
  • 49:29 - 49:34
    He's calling you, "Come. Come away."
  • 49:34 - 49:37
    "Come to Me."
  • 49:37 - 49:39
    The devil's right there:
    "No, you can't go.
  • 49:39 - 49:43
    You can't go. He's angry with you."
  • 49:43 - 49:47
    But listen... listen to His voice.
  • 49:47 - 49:51
    "Arise, My love, My beautiful one,
  • 49:51 - 49:54
    and come away."
  • 49:54 - 49:57
    That's a statement for the ages.
  • 49:57 - 50:01
    It's true every single
    day of your saved life.
  • 50:01 - 50:07
    And Satan says, "Uh huh. You're ugly."
  • 50:07 - 50:09
    And Christ says, "You're beautiful."
  • 50:09 - 50:11
    He says, "You're ugly!"
  • 50:11 - 50:14
    Christ says, "You're beautiful."
  • 50:14 - 50:17
    Who are you going to believe?
  • 50:17 - 50:22
    He's a liar. Who are you going to believe?
  • 50:22 - 50:25
    Have you ever considered
  • 50:25 - 50:27
    the account in Zechariah?
  • 50:27 - 50:30
    You might want to turn there.
  • 50:30 - 50:31
    Go to Zechariah.
  • 50:31 - 50:37
    Second to the last book
    of the Old Testament.
  • 50:37 - 50:39
    You have Zephaniah, Haggai,
  • 50:39 - 50:45
    and then Zechariah right before Malachi.
  • 50:45 - 50:49
    Look at chapter 3.
  • 50:49 - 51:00
    Chapter 3:3.
  • 51:00 - 51:03
    "And Joshua was standing before the Angel
  • 51:03 - 51:09
    clothed with filthy garments."
  • 51:09 - 51:13
    Zechariah 3:3.
  • 51:13 - 51:15
    "Joshua was standing before the Angel
  • 51:15 - 51:19
    clothed with filthy garments."
  • 51:19 - 51:23
    Now go back up to v.1.
  • 51:23 - 51:25
    "He showed me Joshua the high priest
  • 51:25 - 51:27
    standing before the Angel of the Lord."
  • 51:27 - 51:29
    Notice, Satan's there.
  • 51:29 - 51:34
    So you have Joshua
  • 51:34 - 51:36
    clothed in filthy garments.
  • 51:36 - 51:38
    There's Satan.
  • 51:38 - 51:46
    He's standing - undoubtedly at
    the right hand of the Lord -
  • 51:46 - 51:54
    to accuse Joshua.
  • 51:54 - 51:57
    And look at v. 2.
  • 51:57 - 52:00
    "The Lord said to Satan,
  • 52:00 - 52:03
    'The Lord rebuke you, O Satan!
  • 52:03 - 52:07
    The Lord who has chosen
    Jerusalem rebuke you.
  • 52:07 - 52:14
    Is not this a brand
    plucked from the fire?'"
  • 52:14 - 52:17
    You know what's true?
  • 52:17 - 52:21
    He was standing there in a filthy garment.
  • 52:21 - 52:23
    And you know what's true?
  • 52:23 - 52:30
    Most of the devil's accusations
    about you are true.
  • 52:30 - 52:32
    Your failures that he throws in your face?
  • 52:32 - 52:36
    You did fail.
  • 52:36 - 52:37
    That's a reality.
  • 52:37 - 52:39
    We do sin. We do fail. We do fall.
  • 52:39 - 52:41
    We are foolish.
  • 52:41 - 52:44
    And yet, we can say,
  • 52:44 - 52:48
    "Satan, the Lord rebuke you."
  • 52:48 - 52:51
    Why? Because we too are brands
  • 52:51 - 52:54
    plucked from the fire.
  • 52:54 - 52:55
    Look at v. 4,
  • 52:55 - 52:57
    "The Angel said to those who were
  • 52:57 - 52:59
    standing before Him,
  • 52:59 - 53:01
    'remove the filthy garments...'"
  • 53:01 - 53:03
    This is what the blood does.
  • 53:03 - 53:07
    "Remove the filthy garments from him.
  • 53:07 - 53:09
    And to him He said, 'Behold, I have
  • 53:09 - 53:12
    taken your iniquity away from you
  • 53:12 - 53:18
    and I will clothe you
    with pure vestments.'"
  • 53:18 - 53:21
    You see, the devil, he knows what we do.
  • 53:21 - 53:23
    He throws it in our face.
  • 53:23 - 53:26
    But the reality is that
    the Lord says to us:
  • 53:26 - 53:28
    "I know what you've done.
  • 53:28 - 53:30
    And I know better than
    the devil what you've done.
  • 53:30 - 53:32
    And I didn't withhold My love from you
  • 53:32 - 53:34
    at the first because of your sins
  • 53:34 - 53:35
    and I don't withhold it now.
  • 53:35 - 53:39
    Arise, My love, My beautiful one,
  • 53:39 - 53:42
    and come away."
  • 53:42 - 53:45
    What a special love this is!
  • 53:45 - 53:47
    Because listen, when the devil fell,
  • 53:47 - 53:50
    there was no sweet voice
  • 53:50 - 53:52
    bidding him to come away.
  • 53:52 - 53:54
    The way is barred for him forever.
  • 53:54 - 53:55
    And he would have you think
  • 53:55 - 53:57
    that the way is barred to you as well,
  • 53:57 - 53:59
    but you remember this: he's a liar.
  • 53:59 - 54:01
    He's the father of lies.
  • 54:01 - 54:06
    The voice of your Savior is this:
  • 54:06 - 54:09
    "Let Me see your face."
  • 54:09 - 54:11
    You wake up in the morning;
  • 54:11 - 54:12
    this is true all the time.
  • 54:12 - 54:15
    It speaks in your ears
  • 54:15 - 54:20
    every moment of your saved life.
  • 54:20 - 54:23
    "Let Me see your face.
  • 54:23 - 54:27
    Let Me hear your voice."
  • 54:27 - 54:30
    If you listen to the devil's voice,
    you know what you'll hear?
  • 54:30 - 54:34
    "Well, even if Jesus is
    bidding somebody to come
  • 54:34 - 54:38
    which it seems like in these words He is,
  • 54:38 - 54:40
    it's someone who's beautiful.
  • 54:40 - 54:44
    And that rules you out.
  • 54:44 - 54:46
    And if that actually is Jesus
  • 54:46 - 54:48
    saying that He finds you beautiful,
  • 54:48 - 54:51
    well, now you know you can't
    really take Him seriously
  • 54:51 - 54:56
    because you know that
    doesn't describe you."
  • 54:56 - 54:58
    Or he just says to us,
  • 54:58 - 54:59
    "You know what?
  • 54:59 - 55:02
    None of this is Jesus
    speaking to you at all.
  • 55:02 - 55:04
    This is just Solomon talking
    to one of his women.
  • 55:04 - 55:07
    This isn't Jesus talking to you."
  • 55:07 - 55:11
    But if you'll listen to Jesus' voice:
  • 55:11 - 55:13
    "Let Me see your face.
  • 55:13 - 55:16
    Let Me hear your voice.
  • 55:16 - 55:18
    For your voice is sweet,
  • 55:18 - 55:23
    and your face is lovely."
  • 55:23 - 55:24
    And you know, to those of you
  • 55:24 - 55:28
    that don't know this Savior,
  • 55:28 - 55:32
    there is a text, and it speaks to you.
  • 55:32 - 55:35
    It's found in Psalm 45
    and it goes this way:
  • 55:35 - 55:38
    "Hear, O daughter, and consider
  • 55:38 - 55:40
    and incline your ear.
  • 55:40 - 55:43
    Forget your people
  • 55:43 - 55:45
    and your father's house
  • 55:45 - 55:50
    and the King will desire your beauty."
  • 55:50 - 55:53
    That's a beautiful picture of repentance.
  • 55:53 - 55:55
    Turn away from your ways,
  • 55:55 - 56:01
    your people, and turn to Him,
  • 56:01 - 56:05
    and look to that blood to wash you,
  • 56:05 - 56:08
    and the King will desire
    your beauty as well.
  • 56:08 - 56:11
    But you've got to go to Him
    to make you beautiful.
  • 56:11 - 56:14
    Don't think - don't ever tell somebody,
  • 56:14 - 56:16
    "Well, I'm a good person.
    I'm going to get there."
  • 56:16 - 56:23
    If you say that, you are ugly.
  • 56:23 - 56:25
    All your best works do -
  • 56:25 - 56:27
    the best works of righteousness
  • 56:27 - 56:30
    that you accomplish are filthy rags.
  • 56:30 - 56:32
    You say, "Well, I'm a good person."
  • 56:32 - 56:35
    No, you're not. You're ugly.
  • 56:35 - 56:39
    But if you say,
    "I went to Him in all my sin.
  • 56:39 - 56:41
    I cried to Him
  • 56:41 - 56:43
    and He's washed me with His blood."
  • 56:43 - 56:45
    I'll tell you this, you're perfect.
  • 56:45 - 56:48
    There is no spot. There is no blemish.
  • 56:48 - 56:50
    And His desire is for you.
  • 56:50 - 56:52
    And He wants to commune with you.
  • 56:52 - 56:54
    He knocks at that door.
  • 56:54 - 56:57
    He says, "Open to Me, so I can come in."
  • 56:57 - 56:59
    And we're going to see in chapter 5
  • 56:59 - 57:00
    of the Song of Solomon,
  • 57:00 - 57:04
    it is to come in and eat
  • 57:04 - 57:07
    and it is to come in for intimacy.
  • 57:07 - 57:08
    We're talking the picture
  • 57:08 - 57:13
    of a bridegroom and his bride.
  • 57:13 - 57:15
    This is what He wants with His people.
  • 57:15 - 57:18
    Christianity is the best imaginable thing.
  • 57:18 - 57:23
    It is being drawn into this world
  • 57:23 - 57:26
    of the love of the Savior;
  • 57:26 - 57:28
    the attraction of the Savior;
  • 57:28 - 57:29
    the purity of the Savior;
  • 57:29 - 57:32
    the longings of the Savior;
  • 57:32 - 57:35
    the intimacy, the communion
    and interaction
  • 57:35 - 57:38
    with the Savior -
    this is true Christianity.
  • 57:38 - 57:42
    You don't want to fall short of this.
  • 57:42 - 57:49
    Don't buy into cheap
    imitations of Christianity.
  • 57:49 - 57:51
    Oh, well, I made a decision.
  • 57:51 - 57:53
    I said a prayer.
  • 57:53 - 57:55
    People have a form of godliness,
  • 57:55 - 57:57
    but they deny the power thereof.
  • 57:57 - 57:58
    You don't want that.
  • 57:58 - 58:00
    You want this.
  • 58:00 - 58:02
    This is good.
  • 58:02 - 58:09
    This is a time of singing
    when you've got this.
  • 58:09 - 58:11
    If you don't have this, it's all a mirage.
  • 58:11 - 58:13
    It's a fake. It's an imitation.
  • 58:13 - 58:15
    You don't want that.
  • 58:15 - 58:18
    Religion like that - it's morbid,
  • 58:18 - 58:21
    it's horrible.
  • 58:21 - 58:24
    You may as well go back
    to the world than have that.
  • 58:24 - 58:26
    It's just a delusion.
  • 58:26 - 58:28
    In the end, you spend
    your whole life religious
  • 58:28 - 58:29
    and then you hear His voice.
  • 58:29 - 58:31
    "Oh Lord, I did all the things."
  • 58:31 - 58:34
    "Depart from Me you
    workers of lawlessness."
  • 58:34 - 58:37
    No, go to Him and have Him
  • 58:37 - 58:42
    wash that lawlessness altogether away
  • 58:42 - 58:46
    so that you are altogether beautiful.
  • 58:46 - 58:47
    Father, I pray,
  • 58:47 - 58:50
    may You convince Your
    people of the reality
  • 58:50 - 58:53
    that Christ actually thinks these thoughts
  • 58:53 - 58:55
    towards His people.
  • 58:55 - 58:56
    Convince us.
  • 58:56 - 58:59
    According to the riches of
    Your glory convince us,
  • 58:59 - 59:02
    that we might comprehend
    the realities of this love.
  • 59:02 - 59:05
    I pray in the name of our
    Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Title:
A Lily Among Brambles (Song of Solomon Part 3) - Tim Conway
Description:

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Video Language:
English
Duration:
59:07

English subtitles

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